Latest / Becker’s Healthcare Podcast / Dr. Ramis Gheith, Chief Medical Officer, DxTx Pain and Spine
Transcript
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- 0:35Hello, and welcome to the Becker's Healthcare podcast
- 0:37recorded live at the thirty first annual business
- 0:39and operations of ASCs.
- 0:41I'm joined today by doctor Ramesh Gaith, chief
- 0:43medical officer at DX TX Pain and Spine.
- 0:46Doctor Gaih, to kick us off, can you
- 0:48please share a little bit about yourself and
- 0:49the work and and your work in the
- 0:50ASC space? Hi. Thank you for having me.
- 0:53Well, as chief medical officer of DX TX,
- 0:55my role centers on optimizing how physicians and
- 0:58advanced practice providers deliver complex
- 1:01interventional procedures in the ambulatory surgery center environment.
- 1:05My clinical background is in interventional pain and
- 1:08spine,
- 1:09and I spent much of my career helping
- 1:11to design and expand ASCs that could provide
- 1:14highly specialized,
- 1:15cost effective, and patient centered care
- 1:18outside of the hospital setting. At DXTX, I
- 1:21focus on ensuring that clinical quality and operational
- 1:24efficiency and patient alignment move in lockstep while
- 1:27also mentoring medical directors and provider teams across
- 1:29the network.
- 1:31This still perspective, both as a practicing physician
- 1:33and a system level leader, gives me a
- 1:35clear view into what drives ASC success today
- 1:38and what will define it in the future.
- 1:41So the ASC market in The US is
- 1:43projected to reach $60,800,000,000
- 1:45by 2030
- 1:46and continues to experience strong year over year
- 1:49growth. From your perspective, what are the most
- 1:51significant trends in market forces driving this expansion,
- 1:54and how should ASC leaders be preparing today?
- 1:56That's a great question.
- 1:58You know, there are several factors that are
- 2:01converging to drive ASC growth.
- 2:04First and foremost,
- 2:05payers and policymakers continue to migrate higher acuity
- 2:09cases
- 2:10to the outpatient settings due to safety data,
- 2:12the lower cost that we experience in the
- 2:14ASC setting, and the patient preferences.
- 2:17Secondly, the patients themselves are more informed consumers.
- 2:20They want the convenience.
- 2:22They want the accessibility,
- 2:23and they want the value, which the ASCs
- 2:26can provide.
- 2:27And thirdly, the physicians are increasingly seeking ownership
- 2:31and leadership opportunities outside of the hospital systems,
- 2:35and ASCs
- 2:36give them both that clinical autonomy, but also
- 2:40the financial alignment.
- 2:42So from AI and robotic surgeries to advanced
- 2:45EHR systems, technology remains both a make or
- 2:48break factor and a critical driver of ASC
- 2:51operations at scale.
- 2:52How do you see deeper tech integration shaping
- 2:55the way ASCs deliver care and manage their
- 2:57business over the next few years?
- 2:59Well, that's a very interesting question because technology
- 3:02is no longer a nice to have in
- 3:05ASCs, quote, unquote, but it's really a core
- 3:08differentiator.
- 3:08I see three main areas where technology integration
- 3:11will reshape our field.
- 3:13Clinical precision, being robotics and navigation tools, being
- 3:17absolutely essential in AOR,
- 3:19operational
- 3:19optimization,
- 3:21utilizing advanced EHRs and AI powered analytics
- 3:24to streamline your scheduling to staffing,
- 3:27the inventory, etcetera, that we all rely on
- 3:30in ASC, and also and most importantly,
- 3:33patient engagement,
- 3:35Digital informed consent. Digitizing the informed consent process
- 3:38like we did over a year ago with
- 3:41mobile follow-up and remote monitoring
- 3:43will extend the ASC experience beyond four walls,
- 3:46improving outcomes, but also patient satisfaction.
- 3:49So, doctor Gaeth, I'm very curious. Is there
- 3:51one particular
- 3:52technology or innovation that stands out to you
- 3:55as especially transformative?
- 3:57Yes. I do see this
- 3:59AI
- 4:01data analytic world,
- 4:03coming upon us here. And by combining the
- 4:05clinical outcomes, the data
- 4:08with financial and operational metrics, the AECs could
- 4:10predict case profitability,
- 4:12optimize scheduling down to the block level, and
- 4:15benchmark outcomes across networks.
- 4:18That's gonna be a game changer for both
- 4:20quality and for sustainability in the future.
- 4:23With 60% of health systems considering ASC joint
- 4:25ventures and many ASCs already partnering with systems
- 4:28in their communities,
- 4:29what opportunities do you see for collaboration, whether
- 4:32with other providers or vendors,
- 4:38full of really great questions today because
- 4:40collaboration is really no longer an option. It's
- 4:43essential.
- 4:44The joint ventures with health systems can bring
- 4:46scale, patient pipelines, and payer leverage, while while
- 4:49independent ASC operators can contribute to the speed,
- 4:52the innovation, and the patient alignment, or rather
- 4:55the physician alignment.
- 4:56Beyond health system partnerships, I see tremendous opportunities
- 4:59with vendors and technology partners who can help
- 5:01standardize supply chains, integrate data systems, and bring
- 5:05new clinical capabilities to the outpatient settings.
- 5:08Well, doctor Guy, before I let you go,
- 5:10is there anything else we didn't touch on
- 5:12or any final thoughts you'd like to share?
- 5:14Yeah. You know, I I think that
- 5:16going forward in the future, ACs are not
- 5:18just about shifting the site of service
- 5:21as as a lot of folks like to
- 5:22look at it. They really represent a paradigm
- 5:26shift in how we think about value in
- 5:27health care.
- 5:29The leaders who thrive will be those who
- 5:31balance clinical excellence with operational discipline,
- 5:34embrace innovation without losing sight of compliance,
- 5:36and foster cultures where physicians,
- 5:39APPs,
- 5:40nurses, and staff all feel invested in the
- 5:43mission.
- 5:44At DXTX Pain is buying, we believe ASCs
- 5:46are the future of specialty care, and our
- 5:49job as leaders is to ensure that that
- 5:51future is defined by quality,
- 5:53access, and patient trust.
- 5:55Well, doctor Guy, thank you again for joining
- 5:57us today on the Becker's HealthCare podcast, and
- 5:59have a great rest of your day. Thank
- 6:00you.